Johnson

PAWTUCKET — It has been a memorable season for the Pawtucket Red Sox.

Not only have the PawSox made the playoffs for the first time in five years, but they are on pace to break several club records.

The PawSox need only one more victory to break the club record for most wins in a season. (They had 83 in 2003.)

No matter what happens in the postseason, Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson considers this season to be a success.

“When you go into a Triple-A season, you are looking for two or three things,” Johnson said. “One is obviously the development of younger players coming up.”

The second thing that he tries to do when entering a season, he said, is to prepare the developed players so they are able to contribute for the Red Sox if they are called up.

“We’ve had that,” Johnson said, referring to the 13 players who have been promoted to Boston so far this season.

“And you want to have your six-year free-agent guys that sign with you to come in and be very positive people on your team and also be that guy that can back up your big-league club and we’ve had that,” Johnson said. “When you combine that all and it equates into wins and you get to a point where you are one of the four teams in the playoffs, that’s a pretty good year.”

That’s why this season has meant so much to Johnson.

“As far as a win-loss record, obviously, this is one of the better teams I’ve ever had so anytime you can be rewarded with that, going to a playoff situation, I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Johnson said. “I really am excited more for the players. It’s exciting. It’s fun watching them. I’ve enjoyed it.”

The second-place PawSox and first-place Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees will begin a playoff series on Wednesday, with Pawtucket hosting the first two games. It will be the first playoff series between the Red Sox and Yankees’ Triple-A affiliates since the 1991 Governors’ Cup Finals, when Pawtucket was swept in three games by the Columbus Clippers (then the Yankees’ affiliate).

“It’s icing on the cake for the quality season that we’ve had,” Johnson said of the matchup.

Pawtucket already has established its highest winning percentage in a season no matter the outcome of their final three games (currently at .597).

Barring a complete collapse on the defensive end, the PawSox will set a club mark for highest fielding percentage in a season (they currently own a .983 fielding percentage and the current record is .980 set in 2006).

Pawtucket needs just two more home victories to secure the best home record in the International League and set a club-record for most home victories in a season (46 in both 1977 and 1995).

Johnson said that all of the records are a testament to how hard that PawSox have worked and the quality of the players that are on the team.

“It’s exciting because I know how gratifying it is to them and that makes it more fun for me,” Johnson said.

With a .269 team batting average (ranked fourth in the I.L.), a 3.71 team ERA (ranked second), and a .983 team fielding percentage (ranked first), the PawSox have been successful in all three phases of the game and that has translated into a record-breaking season.

roblee@projo.com